Italian towns in lockdown after 155 test positive

Authorities implement draconian measures to try to halt outbreak in north of country after three deaths

ELEVEN Italian towns were in lockdown due to coronavirus last night as three deaths were attributed to it following a dramatic surge in cases.

Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister, announced the “extraordinary measures” as a search was launched to find the elusive “patient zero” believed to have spread the virus, making Italy the first European country with a significant outbreak.

Under the decree, around 50,000 people are banned from leaving or entering the zones across the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto without permission. At least 155 have now tested positive, making Italy the fifth worst hit country in the world.

The new cases prompted the closure of schools and universities and forced Giorgio Armani to cancel its centrepiece runway show as Milan Fashion Week was thrown into chaos.

Meanwhile, authorities cut short the Venice Carnival by two days, and cancelled the Scotland-italy Women’s Six Nations clash scheduled to take place in Legnano, north of Milan.

Three men’s Serie A football matches were also called off.

Yesterday, Mr Conte said: “We have adopted a decree to protect the health of Italians, which is our priority.”

He urged people to “have faith in the political and scientific institutions, which are doing everything possible”.

The government-imposed quarantine in Lombardy and Veneto will last for at least two weeks.

Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italy’s civil protection department, said 110 of the confirmed cases were in Lombardy, with 21 in Veneto and others in Emiliaromagna and Lazio. He also confirmed that the patient suspected to have spread the virus had yet to be identified.

The 38-year-old man who was the first case of infection registered in Lombardy had not himself been to China, but was in contact with a colleague who was there in late January.

The colleague has tested negative to the new coronavirus, however.

“Unfortunately, the person who was considered to be ‘patient zero’ was not,” said Attilio Fontana, the president of Lombardy. “We need to look elsewhere. We are following two hypotheses, and we will try to understand if one of the two is correct.”

Officials reported the third death yesterday, an elderly woman from the town of Crema.

The Lombardy region said yesterday that all schools, including universities, in Italy’s financial capital Milan – would be closed until further notice. The Veneto region also closed schools, fairs, museums, and suspended public events including Venice’s carnival until March 1.

Last night, Austria announced it was stopping all train travel to and from Italy due to concerns over the virus but services were later resumed.

Milan’s Duomo Cathedral has been closed to tourists and mass has been suspended.

People in Milan, and Lombardy started lined up outside supermarkets and grocery shops, as fresh meat, fruit and vegetables become increasingly scarce. Masks and hand disinfectants sold out almost everywhere. Authorities remained adamant yesterday that there is currently no risk of a pandemic.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told The Daily Telegraph: “The identification of the large cluster of cases in Italy is a big worry for Europe, and we can expect there to be quite a few more cases in the next few days.”